UN Reporter: I am Monitoring the Case of the University Girl

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran announced that she is closely monitoring the case of a girl who removed her clothes in protest against mandatory hijab at the University of Science and Research in Tehran. Mai Sato, while sharing a video showing the woman's protest in her underwear on social media platform X on Saturday night, November 12, wrote: 'I will closely monitor this incident and the response of Iranian authorities.' Earlier, Amnesty International had also called for the immediate release of this girl and urged Iranian officials to prevent 'torture and ill-treatment' during her detention and to guarantee her access to family and a lawyer. The organization also emphasized the need for an independent investigation into the allegations of 'beating and sexual violence during the detention' of this girl. Additionally, a large number of social media users reacted to the violence against this student and her subsequent detention and transfer to a 'psychiatric treatment center' using the hashtag 'Science and Research Girl.' On Saturday, videos were circulated on social media showing a girl in her underwear in the courtyard of the University of Science and Research in Tehran. In one of the videos, it was seen that agents violently threw this girl into a vehicle and took her away. Following that, the Amir Kabir Telegram channel reported that this girl was 'arrested by the IRGC Intelligence Organization' and transferred to a 'psychiatric hospital.' The Farhikhtegan newspaper, affiliated with the Islamic Azad University, also confirmed the hospitalization of this student 'in one of the psychiatric hospitals.' According to student sources, the protest of this girl was a reaction to the harassment by security agents regarding the mandatory hijab. According to some reports, security agents had torn her clothes when confronting this girl 'who was not wearing a headscarf.' Two eyewitnesses present at the scene told the BBC that this girl entered classrooms unexpectedly with a mobile phone in hand and was apparently filming students. After a professor's objection and the students' confrontation with her, the girl began to scream. According to witnesses, the girl told the students, 'I have come to save you.' One witness said that when she reached the courtyard, she saw the girl had taken off her clothes. These witnesses stated that they were unaware of the events before the girl entered the classrooms and also the moments before her undressing. In the early hours of the news release, Amir Mahjoob, the director of public relations at Islamic Azad University, announced the transfer of this student to a 'police station' and claimed that she was 'under severe psychological pressure and had psychological disorders.' This claim has also been repeated in social media accounts close to the IRGC and some state media; these sources released a video in which a man claiming to be the husband of the arrested woman introduces her as a 'mother of two children' and states that she has 'psychological issues.' This is not the first time that officials and media affiliated with the Islamic Republic have accused opponents and protesters of 'mental disorders' and forcibly transferred them to treatment centers. The crackdown on women and the response of security forces against protesters of the mandatory hijab has intensified since September 2022, following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the morality police, which led to widespread protests.